The Springbok mentor struck a positive figure at the conclusion of the two-day coaching indaba in Cape Town yesterday and knows exactly which elements to work on ahead of his team’s tour to the UK next month.

Toetie also confirmed that Free State Cheetahs coach
Franco Smith and Lions defence
specialist JP Ferreira will be
joining the management team for the end-of-year tour.

Coetzee says: “I’m really happy to see the opportunity to get it [Springbok rugby] back up again.

“Yes, obviously it [the status quo] is not ideal, but nothing special has ever been achieved in ideal
conditions.

“I see this as an opportunity and what makes me more excited is the willingness of franchise coaches that are passionate to turn things around.”

Of the current problems faced in the country’s rugby, Coetzee highlights three things – apart from conditioning of players which will be discussed at an Indaba on December 12.

Kicking game

The first is the kicking execution of which he says: “We really [need to] up our kicking execution – that is something we need to get better at.”

He adds that a good kicking game is accompanied by good
aerial skills.

The coach explains: “If you kick and you kick a distance kick — if you don’t pin them [the opposition] down there [in their own half], then you must expect another
contestable kick back.

“So if your aerial skills aren’t good, then you will sit with a
problem as well.

“I don’t want to take contestable kicking out of rugby armoury, you can not – every team in the world kicks contestable kicks.

“But it’s no use kicking a
contestable kick and you can’t win the contestable kick in the air. So the kicking game is important.”

“So the feeling in the indaba is we’ve been looking at this ball in hand game, that we neglected our defensive structures in a way, because that is what we have been before – strong in defence.

“Super Rugby is about entertainment, Test rugby is about testing every level and every department of the game.

“The emphasis is not that we should go back, it should be an even spread and make sure that we will have as good an attack as well as defence.”

Fresh blood

Meanwhile, Coetzee also let slip that there will be a number of youngsters called up to the team to face the Barbarians when he names his two squads – one for the Barbarians game and the other for the Tests – on Saturday.

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